India and Bhutan have signed an intergovernmental agreement to build the first railway connection in the Himalaia kingdom, New Delhi officials will say that they will deepen the economic and strategic links.
The Memorandum d’Entesa, announced on September 29 during the visit of Foreign Secretary Bhutanesa Pema Choden to Nova Delhi, covers two new alignments: a 57 km line from Kokrajhar to Assam in Geephu in Bhutan and a 20 km line from Banarhat to West Bengal in Samtse.
A northeastern railway map shows the proposal for the proposed Kokrajha-Engehu of 57 km, Bhutan’s first cross-border link, with planned stations and river crossings through the Assam Chirang district. Image courtesy of Indian railways
Indian Foreign Secretary, Vikram Misri, stated that projects have a combined disbursement of about $ 483 million.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told local journalists that Kokrajhar -Gephu alignment longer requires 18 bridges and 27 level steps.
“It will be completed in four years and will be a catalyst for trade, connectivity and contact with people,” Vaishnaw said in a special session. The banarhat -samtse line is expected to be delivered in three years.
The initiative is derived from the years of study of the Railway Unit of the North Frontera -East of India, which prepared the detailed report of the project. Although the RDP itself has not been released, Indian officials say that the two alignments are completely surveyed and ready for tender.
Bhutan has been discussing the possible railway links with India for some time, but projects gained impetus after the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Thimphu in March. The Indian Foreign Ministry described the railway agreement as “a transformative step in our unique and tested association over time”.
Bhutan officials have not yet published their own project statement. New Delhi’s announcement did not specify how the costs would be shared, although the Indian side confirmed its responsibility to finance the RD and the initial works.
If they were carried out in the calendar, projects would integrate Bhutan into the wider Indian rail network for the first time, offering a new commercial route through Western Assam and Bengal and further integrating the connectivity of the country without land with South Asia.
